1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an alloy for building up valves of internal combustion engines, especially for building up exhaust valves of automobile engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many conventional valves of internal combustion engines have been used after buildup welding the portions thereof to be abraded with various surface-hardening alloys.
A cobalt-base alloy, consisting mainly of cobalt-chromium and small amounts of tungsten, molybdenum, carbon and so on, is often employed as a buildup alloy for exhaust valves of automobile engines since the cobalt-base alloy is superior in hardness at high temperatures and lead oxide corrosion resistance (hereinafter referred to PbO resistance). However, the cobalt-base alloy contains a large amount of expensive cobalt, and is a highly expensive material for buildup welding. Therefore a less expensive material which exhibits no less performance than that of the cobalt-base alloy has been required for buildup welding the exhaust valves of the automobile engines.
Japanese Unexamined Pat. Publication (KOKAI) No. 153872/1984 discloses an iron-chromium-nickel alloy for engine valves developed for solving the above mentioned problem. The iron-chromium-nickel alloy is employed for forming portions of the engine valve which are required to withstand abrasion by buildup by casting or by building up with a welding rod. To the iron-chromium-nickel alloy is added tungsten and titanium for controlling and refining the growth of the crystal grains of the base metal. To the iron-chromium-nickel there is further added manganese for deoxidizing and desulfurizing. The iron-chromium-nickel alloy furthermore contains aluminum for improving the PbO resistance. However, the inventors of the present invention have investigated and discovered that the iron-chromium-nickel alloy is inferior in its resistance to PbO. Further, instead of the buildup with the welding rod, a method for buildup with alloy powder has been drawing attention because of its operability, buildup efficiency and ease of automation. However, when the iron-chromium-nickel alloy is employed for the method for the buildup with alloy powder, the following drawbacks arise: i.e., a poor powder deposition rate, an uneven bead configuration, pin holes and plow holes in the buildup layer and oxide intrusions into the buildup layer. The above drawbacks are believed to be resulting from the titanium added for controlling and refining the growth of the crystal grains of the base metal and the aluminum for improving the PbO resistance.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 179891/1987 discloses a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy for buildup, although it is not so cheap as the abovementioned iron-chromium-nickel alloy. The nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy is superior in hardness at high temperatures and the PbO resistance, and the buildup method with alloy powder can be conducted favorably. However, the inventors have investigated and found that the corrosion of the exhaust valves is caused not only by lead oxide but also by lead oxide containing lead sulfate. The inventors have discovered that the nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy is inferior in corrosion resistance against lead oxide containing lead sulfate (hereinafter referred to as PbO+PbSO.sub.4 resistance).